bigezbarguide's blog

BOUDIN, BOURBON & BEER 2018

bigezbarguide

The Emeril Lagasse Foundation’s signature outdoor food and music festival, Boudin, Bourbon & Beer, kicks-off on Friday, Nov. 9 at Champions Square in New Orleans. One of the South’s top food and music festivals, the eighth annual event will showcase award-winning chefs preparing their own creative styles of boudin sausage. Chef Emeril Lagasse, along with co-chairs Donald Link, Stephen Stryjewski and Guy Fieri lead this culinary extravaganza that puts Louisiana’s favorite artisanal sausage in the spotlight.

Not only can you feast on 70+ boudin-inspired dishes by local and national chefs,

BILL'S 2018 JAZZ FEST PICKS - DAY II

bigezbarguide

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No Andy Williams, not Christmas, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the unchallenged greatest music and culture event on the planet. This is my first day out this year and there is no shortage of talent to keep me entertained.

I’m easing into the day with the talented trio of Tin Men in the safe confines of the Blues Tent. Things pick up quickly in that 12:15ish to 1:15ish slot with Trumpet Mafia, Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars, Vishtèn from the Canadian Acadienne, the Hot 8 Brass Band, and La Banda Blanca from Honduras.

BILL & AIMEE GO TO JAMAICA – 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL!

bigezbarguide

Join Aimee as she shares our Caribbean adventure as only she can while we return to Jamaica to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. This will be our fourth visit to one of the Couples Resorts and, I admit, after our first trip to an all-inclusive for our honeymoon, it has been difficult to vacation any other way. It reminds me of the color TV versus black & white story.

Some of you may be old enough to remember having a neat black & white television, with no remote control, and thinking it was the greatest thing since sliced bread – I am going to assume you have all been around since sliced bread. After that first time seeing a color TV, the love affair was over. All-inclusive resorts are just that. Food and beverage and room service an all those things are pre-paid for. It may cost a little more money, but I am sure no resorts are making a big profit when I am visiting the bar for a week.

Bill & Aimee Go To Oktoberfest

Join Aimee and I as we a once in a lifetime trip to Oktoberfest 2016 into a multi-city European adventure. Follow the YouTube links for each episode as Aimee shares our journey as only she can.

Episode 1: The Expiration Date
Did you know that when traveling to Europe the expiration date on your passport is not always the expiration date? We did not; but when we got to the airport on the morning of our flight we were informed that our return to the states needed to occur 6 months prior to the actual expiration date – which for us was only one month away!

Episode 2: The Charles River
On our first day in Prague, we found a cool bar, off the beaten track and right on the river. As you can see, it looks like someone dropped the trailer off an 18-wheeler, put some chairs on top and hooked up a few kegs. Good idea!

This is a Booze Classic Column dating back to September/October of 2016. With the world’s greatest cocktail symposium taking place in New Orleans in just a couple months, it seemed like a good time to pour ourselves another glass of a story inspired by Tales of the Cocktail!

CINCO DE MAYO

bigezbarguide

Why are we even commemorating this fifth of May day? It is not the celebration of Mexican Independence Day. El Grito de la Indepedencia (The Cry of Independence) is held every September 16 in honor of Mexico's independence from Spanish rule in 1810. These festivities mark the victory of an outnumbered and poorly outfitted Mexican army over invading French forces at the Batalla de Puebla (Battle of Puebla) in 1862. Cinco de Mayo was first recognized in California in 1863 and continues to be widely celebrated in the United States. While a source of great national pride for Mexican-Americans, it is almost completely ignored south of the border.

LOUISIANA SEAFOOD FESTIVAL - 2016

bigezbarguide

From our waters to your plate, the Louisiana Seafood Festival is a celebration of all the fresh and flavorful seafood that makes our state great. This year the party offers 3 days of live music, celebrity Chef cooking demonstrations, a beer garden featuring local and craft selections, a Kid’s tent, and artist village, and, naturally, over 2 dozen delicious food and drink vendors. Some of the new participants this year include Ajun Cajun, Dat Dog, Dirty Dishes, Praline Connection, Quintin’s Ice Cream, Voleo’s Seafood.

In the WWL-TV Cooking Pavilion, 16 celebrity chefs, representing the top seafood chefs in the state, will reveal their secrets to exceptional seafood preparation and cooking. Just a few of those you can check out include Wilfredo Avelar from Emeril’s new restaurant, Meril, Austin Kirzner from Red Fish Grill, Tory McPhail from Commander’s Palace, and Andrea’s Andrea Apuzzo.

TALES OF THE COCKTAIL® 2016 – THE YEAR OF THE MULE

bigezbarguide

The world’s premiere gathering of everything spirits happens each summer, appropriately enough, right here in New Orleans. For 2016, Tales of the Cocktail® will be The Year of the Mule; the Moscow Mule to be exact. There are several reasons I am a fan of this refresher. First, it only has 3 ingredients proving once again that a cocktail does not need to be complicated to be great. It also has an important place in the booze world’s marketing history being one of the earliest examples of “regular” folks being influenced by the media and the drink choices of celebrities.